Devastating Earthquakes of 1999

Prof. Teng-fong Wong

7:30 to 8:30 p.m.Friday February 25

At the end of the last millennium several devastating earthquakes
occurred, killing tens of thousand people and resulting in damage in tens
of billion dollars. Although the number of major earthquakes in the year
1999 is not unusually high, many of them struck in the vicinity of urban
megacities, notably the magnitude 7.8 quake at Izmit, Turkey and the 7.6
quake at Chihchih, Taiwan. The Izmit and Chihchih earthquakes have
significantly different styles of fault rupture, seismicity and
recurrence. Field photos and seismological data will be presented to
illustrate the tectonic framework and mechanical complexity associated
with these two devastating earthquakes. Lessons learned from these
events on earthquake hazard reduction and emergency response will also
be discussed.

The New Global Tectonics Using Space-based Technology

Prof. William Holt

7:30 to 8:30 p.m.Friday March 24

Recent advances in satellite global positioning system (GPS) technology
allow measurements of relative horizontal displacements on the surface of the earth at the accuracy level of 1 mm/yr. This has opened
up new exciting areas of research in active tectonics within continental
regions where deformation is taken up on many faults. Using GPS technology
allows us to map strains on the surface of the earth and this has led to new improvements in seismic hazards analysis as well as new
insights into mountain building processes and the evolution of the continents. I will present new exciting results in areas such as the
western United States and the Himalayas and Tibet.

Fossil Oysters and Sea Level change
on the
New Jersey Continental Shelf

Prof. Bret Bennington
Hofstra University

7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Friday April 28

Seventy million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Era, sea level
was much higher than it is today. What is now central New Jersey was
sea floor beneath the Atlantic where shellfish nestled while fish,
sharks and mosasaurs swam above. Today, the sediments deposited on the
ancient sea floor are exposed along the eroding coastal plain, revealing
strata and fossils that tell a story of continuous sea level rise and
fall. Careful sampling and analysis of these sediments and fossils
allows paleontologists to reconstruct the ancient environments developed
on the sea floor and the animal communities that inhabited them. Sediments and fossils also provide clues to the magnitude of sea level
change in the Cretaceous, suggesting that this exceptionally warm time
in Earth's history may not have been completely ice-free, as previously
believed.